Rubber spike ball painting

You may think I'm crazy for trying this, but I was sure my girls would love to try this painting activity - and they did...but boy what a mess! I found this idea in Family Fun magazine this past month and have been waiting for a non-windy, non-rainy day to do it. I love to let them do big art because I think that is what I would have enjoyed most as a kid.

To do this project you need:

An extra large piece of paper (I used a piece off a roll of table paper), it would also be fun to try it on a sheet

Rubber spike balls (I found mine in the dollar spot at Target)

Tempera paints

A drop cloth for the ground to keep dirt & grass off the balls - in my case I was trying to protect my cement (it did help a little, but next time I will try to find a grassy area so the clean-up is easier)

A wall or fence to tape your paper to

Dip your ball in the paint and throw it!

Mina was in the way of one of Maisy's balls - New rule: make sure no one is in front of you when you throw your ball...

Lou spent a good 5 minutes mixing this purple. She really wanted her ball to stay this color.

Mina decided to paint some circles...

And then toss the ball again! After each toss she would giggle with delight - that made the whole experience worth it for me.

Maisy in a good action shot!

Now I told you this was messy - I'm not sure how she ended up with paint on the back of her head.

After having done this, here are my recommendations:

Tape up an extra piece of paper above the art work paper in case of a stray ballto protect your wall or fence from paint splashes. I had to scrub mine off the house - it wasn't too bad, but it only added to the clean up I had to do on my driveway.

I could have used a few extra drop cloths also, but it wouldn't have been a big deal if the kids had been standing on grass.

Afterwards I turned on the sprinklers so they could rinse a little paint off their bodies, but instead they decided to turn clean-up into a bike wash.

How did you clean the balls afterwards. My 10 year old daughter has one of these rubber spike balls, and after I washed it (my 8 month daughter wanted to play with it)the ball no longer worked the same. The ball and the spikes have become very adhesive to themselves. Any ideas of how to properly clean, or even so save the ball we currently have?